Can Businesses Accept Credit Cards Online for Free?

Businesses that know the importance of credit card transactions may be wondering if they can accept credit cards online for free. Unfortunately, businesses can’t completely avoid transaction fees. They are how merchant account providers and payment processors pay their own costs. However, these processing fees can be reduced–sometimes drastically–by selecting the right merchant account provider.

What are transaction fees?

Transaction fees on credit card transactions exist primarily to offset the costs paid by the merchant account provider or payment processor. These costs include the transaction fees that these companies are charged directly by the credit card companies, day-to-day overhead, such as salaries, rent, and utilities, and the cost of covering chargebacks or other fees that cannot be collected from the merchant who owes them. Because of that last item, the fees charged to a business can go up for businesses that are deemed to be high-risk in their industry, meaning that they are in industries that have a statistically higher likelihood of chargebacks from their customers.

The best thing a business can do if they want to accept credit cards online for the lowest possible cost is to find an internet merchant account provider that works with businesses no matter their risk level and without raising processing fees, and who offers low cost assurance to make sure that the lowest possible pricing is being offered.

Other things to look for

At least as important as keeping fees low is being able to offer other payment services as well. eCheck services, for instance, can be processed efficiently by internet merchant account providers and are much safer than paper alternatives. Offering diverse payment options also attracts more customers, since not everybody can pay using any one given method.

Different card brands charge different fees and merchant account providers may be able to charge different fees based on volume. Work with a merchant account provider that can optimize payments on a business site and lower fees.

The Takeaway

Businesses cannot accept credit cards online for free. Transaction fees apply to all businesses, but they can vary depending upon client volume, industry risk, and the card brands offered. By selecting the right merchant account provider, a business can also offer its customers diverse payment options, which can be just as more important than lowering fees.

Visit Charge.com to compare prices, or call (888) 924-2743 to view products and services that can help lower fees, from a provider that works with businesses of all risk levels.